The Sunday edition of The Nation newspaper of July 22 featured a short take on Niger State in the “Political Ripples” column (Page 21). The writer subjectively titled his political commentary as “Between Aliyu and Yahaya”. This is not only misleading and presumptuous but also disrespectful to the person and office of the Executive Governor of Niger State, Chief Servant (Dr.) Muazu Babangida Aliyu. There is no way the appointing authority, which in this case is Chief Servant MB Aliyu,… Read more

WHAT’S happening on the ground in Cairo and Benghazi appears to be a case of political opportunism - no, not by Mitt Romney, though there was some of that on Thursday - but by Salafist Islamic extremists who are unhappy with the success the more moderate Islamist and secularist parties in Egypt and Libya have had in building political support. We’re still in what I like to call the “fog of revolution” in both countries, where it’s hard to know… Read more

Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, appeared right on the mark when he said his men in the Lagos State Police Command were sleeping; that was after last Sunday’s robbery incidents in the state which caught many Lagosians unawares. Of course there had been pockets of robberies in Lagos before that incident; there had been some cases of car snatching and even armed robberies; it was just that they were not as serious as that day’s. It must have been some… Read more

ON her twice-yearly visits to London from Nigeria, Victoria Appiah stocks up on everything she needs for the next six months. “I basically only do food shopping back home,” she says, standing outside Marks & Spencer’s flagship store in Marble Arch, central London. “It’s not that you can’t get these things in Lagos, but everything here is much more reasonably priced. “If you want cheap products, Chinese-made have taken over in Nigeria, and you can’t always vouch for quality.” Thousands… Read more

In the part one of this write-up, I tried to stir up our minds regarding the good glorious days and the degenerating downward dip Nigeria seems to be heading despite all the natural and human endowments she is blessed with. It was pointed out in the first part, that there is the need to ask ourselves some probing and agitating questions now. In starting this second part, it is pertinent to simply and squarely state that we as Nigerians must… Read more

The Dana Air crash and the recent lifting of its suspension from flying in Nigeria has once again brought to the fore the issue of plane crashes and the safety of air travel in our country. The fact of the matter is that ninety nine per cent of fatal air crashes that have occured in Nigeria in the last 10 years have taken place on a weekend. The question is why is this so? Is it a mere coincidence or… Read more

Another National Honours season and again, President Jonathan fails to make a statement It was nothing short of a debacle last year. The icing on the unsavoury cake was during the ceremony when right there before live television, the president ran out of medals to hang around the necks of some of the awardees. The round metal ware simply finished and the procedure had to be suspended. Well before the elaborate ceremony, the sheen had been taken off what ought… Read more

I am writing to comment on the effectiveness of the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system which was introduced on the Ikorodu -Owode - Mile 12 road a few years ago by the administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) of Lagos State. Since that road was decongested by the BRT buses, it has been very easy and safe for commuters to travel from Ikorodu to other parts of the state. There is no doubt in the minds of those who do… Read more

Growing the Nigerian economy can never be through a one-off government policy, but by developing a bouquet of policies whose implementation is intricately interwoven to achieve desired economic prosperity. The manifestations of the economic growth therefrom will be in the form of increased production of goods and services, higher industrial capacity utilization, direct and indirect employment generation, improved commercial and trading activities and ultimately, improved standard of living of the citizens and higher revenue to government from company and personal income taxes. And… Read more

Libya and its pro-democracy revolution had no better friend than J. Christopher Stevens, the United States ambassador who was killed along with three other Americans in Tuesday’s attack on the consulate in Benghazi. It was an outrageous act that deserved the strongest condemnation. President Obama’s statement of outrage and his vow to bring the killers to justice received bipartisan support, including from politicians otherwise committed to partisan warfare, like the House speaker, John Boehner, and the Senate minority leader, Mitch… Read more

•Govt might have fulfilled legal righteousness, but will it find passengers for the airline? We must state upfront that an air accident need not be the end of the operation of an airline as has been witnessed in Nigeria in the recent past. But on the other hand, the lifting of the operating licence of Dana Airline barely three months after a horrendous crash which cause has yet to be determined, and which pieces have not been picked, is bound… Read more

•Nigerian athletes show the ability of disability The old saying that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” was spectacularly demonstrated in the feats of the Nigerian Paralympics team to the London 2012 Paralympics Games. Having battled a lifetime of hostility, disdain and prejudice, these remarkable men and women went into the competition with little more than an abiding faith in their own abilities. Their determination to bring honour to their nation was richly rewarded: Nigeria won six… Read more

• Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (Man in the mirror 1) You are a terrorist too. 08024613695. Ololade, you yourself can kill 300 people. You are a terrorist agent. FBI should add you to their list of wannabe terrorists. 07036268176. Tunji, please try to syndicate your column and have it published in all major newspapers. I believe it’s the kind of stuff Nigerians need to spur them to a greater positive mass political action. Your confinement to The Nation is a great disservice… Read more